Unbound II: New Tales by Masters of Fantasy – various

It feels a little churlish to be less than glowing in my praise of this book, given it comes from both personal and worthy aims. Editor, Shawn Speakman, intends this to be a companion piece to both Unbound, and Unfettered II. As well as profits going to help pay medical bills for authors in need, these …

Stacking the Shelves – January 2023

I always enjoy seeing these posts on other blogs, but to be honest didn't feel I 'acquired' (ahem) enough books in a week to make it worth while. Why did it take me so long to think about a monthly haul post, instead?! This month has been very generous on the book-buying, hurrah, so suddenly the …

Honeycomb – Joanne M Harris

"When the Nine Worlds were still very young, there were no stories." Honeycomb is a collection of dark, fable-like short stories, all set in the same world of myth and fairy tale, many of which centre around the same few characters while others take us on detours. I believe this is called a 'mosaic' collection, …

Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory – Martha Wells

"'Is this really a good idea?'" I don't often review short stories, but I did buy (and read!) it, and it fits into my current read through of the whole Murderbot series. Plus, while at this point you obviously love the series and are buying the new books/novellas anyway, you might still have a pause …

Of Dragons, Feasts, and Murders – Aliette de Bodard

"'Tet is a feast that's a bit like Christmas.'" For some reason I haven't yet read the Dominion of the Fallen series, starting with The House of Shattered Wings, despite it having been on my TBR for some time. I mean, Fallen angels and a post-apocalyptic war in Paris between great Houses led by said angels? Sign me …

The Ash-Born Boy – VE Schwab

"Once, long ago, there was a man and a woman, and a boy, and a village full of people. And then the village burned down." I wasn't wholly enamoured with The Near Witch, but this short prequel story fleshes out one of the characters to the point that I wish I'd read it first. 'Cole' gives …

Dolor’s Legs – Frances Hardinge

"A tale told by an old woman while she washed her clothes in a spring." Having just finished the wonderful Deeplight, it was lovely to pick up this short story set in the same world. It's not linked to the events in the main book, but rather a little tale from the past involving one of the …

The Last Wish – Andrzej Sapkowski

"She came to him towards morning." Witchers. Genetically modified monster hunters. The Last Wish is a series of stories following Geralt of Rivia, no longer quite human, enhanced by training and potions into the perfect assassin. I perhaps foolishly bought the whole series (it was on offer!) before starting this book, and then struggled to get …

Made to Order: Robots and Revolution – various

"Robot: a machine resembling a human being and able to replicate certain human movements and functions automatically." Robots and automatons are a staple of science fiction, but in the age of AI, internet, and virtual reality, it's nice to get an updated take (or several) on the sub-genre. My only complaint about this collection is …

Behind the Sun, Above the Moon – various

"In the beginning, before Humans had claimed the stars as their own, they held hands as they watched lights streak across the sky and called it Magic." This is a collection of nine short sci-fi stories, each with an LGBTQ slant. I've always thought, given the level of fantastical imagination in the genre, it feels …